[2024] UKUT 403 (LC)

The appellant is the registered proprietor of 22 Trevail Way, St Austell, Cornwall. It was purchased as an investment for him in 2006 while he was serving in the Royal Marines along with other properties; his father let the properties and managed them for him. 22 Trevail Way had five bedrooms and a shared kitchen and bathrooms, and the rooms were let to individuals who did not form a single household. In October 2022 the respondent local housing authority served on the appellant a notice of intention to impose a civil penalty on the basis that he had committed the offence created by section 72(1) of the 2004 Act on 7 July 2022. The respondent later served a final notice imposing a penalty of £15,000.

The appellant appealed to the FTT on a number of grounds, one of which was that on 7 July 2022 there were only 4 people living at the property; another was that one of the residents, Ms Doris Anyanwu, did not live there as her sole or main residence. The FTT heard evidence and found that there were five people living at the property on the relevant date as their sole or main residence, rejected a defence of reasonable excuse, and imposed a penalty of £7,500.